Dark Gifts 2: Glass Wolves
by LA Knight
Summary: Dimitri receives another package from Paris, and words of wisdom from a young boy in his care.


_A/N: This one-shot also more fully introduces the character of Shellton Waverly, a street-talking wise-cracking twelve-year-old orphan unofficially employed by Dimitri. He's important in the Dark Tales series._

**Dark Gifts**

**Glass Wolves**

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Dimitri had never realized before how much time he could spend listening to music and looking at photos. He spent hours now, all of his free time that wasn't involved in the wolf preserve, listening to the thousands of songs Skyler had recorded herself singing for him, flipping through the pages of that photo album.

Every night, he picked a different picture and just stared at it, memorizing everything- which sassy t-shirt she happened to be wearing in this particular photo, the new hilites in her hair, the color of her toe nail polish, the curl of her lips. She had a special smile for when she was doing anything with Tamara. Her toenails were different colors in every picture.

There were five formal portaits of her in the album as well... four seemed to reflect the seasons, for she wore spring time pastels in one, rich greens in the other, golds and autumn browns in the next, and in the one that seemed most like winter, a white dress and glittering frost make up. Looking at that photo made him burn.

And in the last portrait, she was so beautiful she took his breath away. A black formal dress, modest yet mind blowing, and the red cape, and a red corsage pinned to one shoulder, brilliant crimson roses. She wore the black wolf pendant. She wore the scarlet cloak. Sitting on her lap was the stuffed wolf.

When he'd seen the picture, he'd been hit hard in the belly- and lower- by a fierce ache, the need to claim his lifemate. But then it had subsided, because he'd had to wonder- had she done this of her own free will? Would she dress up for him this way willingly? Had she thought of this? Surely if she hadn't wanted to do it, her parents would not have forced her... would they?

Fangs erupted inside his mouth as he snarled. Had they forced her into this? He would destroy them if they had... but... what if...

What if she thought this would make him leave her? That he was satisfied with these pictures and her voice? Was she hoping it would be enough to keep him away?

His heart sank. He had thrilled at the gifts- at first. Now... now he was forced to second guess everything, ponder every possible motive. Tears stung his eyes, not for the first time. Was she trying to drive him away? How could he be sure? She would not speak to him...

Without knocking, Shellton walked in carrying another box with a French postmark.

"Yo, boss-man, got another package from that Del Ponce lady... yo, boss."

Dimitri looked up at the boy, who scruffed his blood auburn hair and set the box down on his desk before coming over to sit next to him on the black leather sofa.

"Are you okay. boss?"

"I'm fine," he replied, somewhat touched that the boy had asked. He couldn't remember the last time Shellton had shown any interest in anyone besides his four sisters. "Why do you ask?"

"You look like your thinkin' about dames, boss."

"Dames?"

"Yeah," he said, crossing one foot over the other. His dark blue and white Vans sported pearlescent shoe laces that glimmered. "You look like you're thinkin' about that Skyler dame. Jade says she's a nice kid. Hot stuff and all." For some reason, Dimitri couldn't find it in him to become possessive of Skyler because of this street-talking wise guy of a kid. "She sent you a present or something, I heard."

"Yes, she did. Why do you mention it?"

"Well, I was just thinking 'bout what Jade and Pearl and them think about when they get presents- what's the catch? And I just wanted to let ya know, that if there _was_ a catch, no dame could hide it from you, boss. And Pearl said to tell you that Skyler 'did it because she wanted to, and she's not trying to get rid of you.' Whatever that means. All I knows is, if _I_ wanted to get rid of a dame, I wouldn't give her presents. That'd make her stick around. So I figure this Skyler dame, she'd have to be a pretty dumb broad to do something like that to you. And you'd never fall for a dame like that. So, no worries."

Not for the first time since seeing Skyler and regaining color and emotion, Dimitri was at a loss as to how he ought to respond to Shell. The boy had a knack for rendering him speechless.

"See ya, boss. Oh, don't forget your package." And Shellton walked out as if he hadn't said something profound and irritating all at once.

Shaking his head, he reached for the package. It carried that sweet scent of Skyler. He opened carefully, and smiled at what he found.

Inside the box was a letter, this time more formally sealed, with dark blue wax on the envelope and a blue ribbon. The wax was stamped with an interwoven S, d, and P. And next to the letter was something swatch in bubble wrap, tied with another blue ribbon. Ignoring the wrapped item for the moment, he picked up the letter. Mingling with the scent of beeswax and ink was that sweet smell, the scent of his lifemate's skin.

He cracked the seal, and read the letter.

_Dimitri,_

_a friend of Josef's knows how to blow glass figurines, and she taught me how. I've made stuff for my family, and was wondering what else to do when I saw this figurine in the window and asked my new friend if she could show me how to make it. It took a few tries, but I finally got it perfect, and it reminded me of the wolves at your preserve, so I thought you'd like it._

_Skyler Rose Daratrazanoff_

Curious now- Skyler could sing, quilt, make stained glass, and now blow glass as well?- he carefully unwrapped the figurine, and grinned with pride in her. She was right- it was perfect.

The glass wolf was dark and smoky- so her friend had taught her how to color the glass, as well. It had tiny blue stones, like sapphires, set on either side of its head for eyes. It looked as if she'd caught the figurine coming to life, in the middle of setting off at a trot to journey back to its den. The wolf looked relaxed and content as it journeyed back to the den Dimitri imagined in his mind.

Then he saw the photograph tucked into the box. He pulled it out and the writing on the back caught his eye. He read, _She made this figurine, as well. It sits beside her on her nightstand, on the other side of her alarm clock._ He turned the photo over and saw Skyler asleep on her bed, holding the stuffed wolf. Covering her body was not the blue quilt Francesca had made her- she was currently asleep on that- but the scarlet cloak. And beside her, on her nightstand, was a glass figurine of a female wolf surrounded by tiny glass cubs. Behind them was a rock, seemingly hollowed naturally so it made a tiny cave. It was the den that the male wolf he held in his hands was journeying back to.

Somehow, he knew she didn't know he had this photo. She didn't want him to know about the female wolf and cubs. But he did know, and it filled his heart with hope.

Shellton was right. She did care for him.


End file.
